A manual of home-making

Early apples, sweet corn, carrots, partly ripened lima beatis, string l>eans, weli-matured peas, sweet jiotatoes, certain typeiof squash, pumpkins, anil some of the berries lend thcinsdvoi particularly well to drying, either in small quantities for haoMi consmnption or in larger qoantities for sale, Blaekcap, purpio* cane, and in some cases red rasplxTries make good ihied prod* ucts. Blackl)erries also may be dri€*d, but the results are 80 good as with raspberries. Prunes, apricots, penchee, any the sweet varieties of pears, strawberrit^, sweet cherries, in some cases sour, are also sm'cessfully drie<l, though thi>^ fruits may usually be sold in the fresh state to commercial finna at a reasonable profit. Proper ventilation that allows for a free circulation of dry aar is more important than heat in drying foo<ls. For example» an electric fan placed before a drier may accomplish excellent results without the aid of heat. How*ever, the use of heat is marc practicable in most homes. The temperature for drying sliould be rather low to prevent scorching, but the more quickly the food is dried, the better will be the color and the flavor. The temperature of the drier rod^ FOOD PRESERVATION 589 cannot be detemiined very accurately except by using a ther- mometer. An oven thermometer or a chemical thermometer may be suspended in the oven or the drier. The greatest care should be given to the regulation of the heat, because the temperature in the drier may rise rather quickly, arid the product may scorch. The food should be stirred from time to time both to prevent Bcorching and to obtain a uniform product. In climates where successive sunny days may be counted on, certain foods may fic dried outdoors. If food is to l>e dried over a kitchen stove or outdoors, it should be carefully protected from dust and from flies. Coarse cheese-cloth may l)e laid over the fooil in the house. If the fcKxl is outtloom, the covering of cheese-clolh should he raised by means of supports or racks so that it will not rest directly on the food and thus allow possible contamination from flies. Especially in the case of fooii that is entirely or partly dried outdoom and that is to be used without being cooket.1, every precaution should be taken to prevent the spreading of certain intestinal diseases that may be carried by flies. Equipment for drtfing, A very slow oven may he used for drying fruits and vegetables spread on papers, large platters, sheets of metal, or pieces of heavy screening with an inch or two turned down at opposite ends for supports. The heat must l>e carefully controlled to prevent scorching. The oven door should be left slightly open to allow a circulation of air to carry off the moisture set free by evaporation. Barrel hoops or frames made of laths may be covered with galvanized iron netting or with cheese-cloth and suspended above the stove by a rope with a pulley arrangement, which makes it easy to adjust the trays at the proper height. Some housekeepers use window screens on bricks as supports. A piece of heavy galvanize*! iron screening with 4 or 5 inches on two opposite sides bent down to form supjiorts is both simple and elTective^ A sheet of tin laid over a dripping pan containing MANUAL OF HOME-MAKLVO a small amount of hot water makoft a good sut^isiituta far i certain type of conunerfial drier.